Eyes FWD hits Pennsylvania

Kingsley, PA (WBNG Binghamton) The Eyes FWD campaign is moving south of the border. Mountain View High School students will take the pledge to stop texting and driving next week.

"I think we just as a generation are so worshiped over technology that we don't even care what we're doing," said Shannon Bollard, a senior at Mountain View High. "It's not even just driving it's everything you do."

Students in 10th, 11th, and 12th grades will have the chance to sign the pledge, and in exchange they will receive a neon green wristband to serve as a constant reminder.

"Using the bracelets I think is a great idea," said Terri Kelsey, a science teacher. "Driving around, you see it on the wheel and that might be enough to remind them in the car."

Kelsey, a Vestal resident, brought the campaign to Mountain View.

"I think it's an opportunity for us as adults to bring up the conversation because I don't usually talk about cell phones ever during my class and I'm sure parents don't a lot either," Kelsey said. "But just having this program come out we can have an opportunity to bring this topic up and have the kids talk about it."

Even students who don't have their licenses or even their learner's permits yet said they think it's important to take the pledge.

"If you're driving with someone who is texting, you should be responsible enough to tell them, 'this isn't good,' because that's your life, too," said Jessica Bostjancic, a senior who has yet to get her permit. "If they get in a wreck, that's something you have to deal with too."

For a school that only has approximately 700 kids across six grades, being the first Pennsylvania school to take part in Eyes FWD comes with a sense of pride.

"It's pretty awesome," Bollard said. "We're a small school, we don't get noticed that much, so it's a pretty big deal that we're trying to make Pennsylvania better and keep it safe."